news WASHINGTON -- With the farm bill stalled, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., says that if the House cannot reach agreement on a bill to reauthorize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, before leaving on Friday for five weeks, the...
Mitchell, 57301

Mitchell South Dakota 120 South Lawler 57301

2013-07-31 17:40:41

WASHINGTON -- With the farm bill stalled, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., says that if the House cannot reach agreement on a bill to reauthorize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, before leaving on Friday for five weeks, the farm bill conference between the House and the Senate should proceed.

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The Senate has passed a comprehensive farm bill that reauthorizes farm programs and the food stamp program, but the House has passed a farm program-only bill and has not reached agreement on a food stamp re-authorization that can garner 218 votes for passage.

"My personal goal is by some point next week, if it's quite clear that consensus cannot be achieved, if it's just not achievable, then I think we need to recognize that fact and move on conferencing the bill that the Senate's passed and the House has passed and see what evolves from that," Lucas said in a radio interview July 24 with the Oklahoma Farm Report.

"But right now, we're still trying to achieve consensus. That consensus is at the very least elusive. It might even be impossible. But I'm still trying."